Let us look at how theory is articulated in the Humanities and Social Sciences in general and in Cultural Studies in particular. Theory is an intellectual activity which allows us to interpret, generalize and critique anything. Critique is not exactly the same as to criticize. To criticize and to critique, though related, are two different procedures as we understand in the Humanities and Social Sciences and particularly in critical theory. To critique something is to lay bare the founding premises of any field. When one is critiquing something one is showing to us the fundamental assumptions of a particular discourse and there are certain other ways in which critiquing something is used in a positive sense. To critique means to plow the main assumptions of a theory.

There are related terms that we can use for theory. We may say that a theory is an organized set of ideas, or theory could be an explanatory framework that allows us to explain certain phenomena, be it a scientific, social or cultural phenomenon. Theory is also a comprehensive explanation that seeks to explain phenomena, a general idea about something, a proposition. And particularly in Cultural Studies, theory is a position through which we organize our ideas to drive home an argument.